Damn straight BallinEurope’ll run these videos. Alongside this year’s top-notch hoops for which the Copa Del Rey has become world famous, the 2013 edition of the tournament featured some amazing athleticism, choreography and straight-up gorgeousness from Las Dreamcheers, a dance team made up of ACB cheerleaders.
Check out the Liga Endesa-produced video directly below for highlights from last weekend’s show-within-a-show, including what must be the world’s sexiest stewardess outfits. (Is this a preview of Turkish Airlines’ new employee wardrobes?) Good ol’ YouTube provides another compilation as well…
Tags: cheerleaders, Copa del Rey, Dreamcheers, Liga Endesa, Spain, YouTube
Not really “a dance team made up of ACB cheerleaders”, but actually it’s the FC Barcelona cheerleaders
Os Davis can we get your opinion on the FIBA Europe Player of the Year voting?
http://www.fibaeurope.com/coid_S4-g0RUcJicCxGA2ihlTJ1.articleMode_on.html
FIBA EUROPE 2012 MEN’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR VOTING RESULTS
1. Andrei Kirilenko
2. Pau Gasol
3. Vassilis Spanoulis
4. Tony Parker
5. Marc Gasol
6. Danilo Gallinari
7. Goran Dragic
8. Marcin Gortat
9. Nikola Pekovic
10. Omer Asik
Spanoulis ranked higher than Parker and Marc Gasol. ROTFLMAO!
Still if we are to take this list seriously than 9 out of the top 10 European players are in the NBA. Of course it goes without saying that 10 out of the top 10 American players are in the NBA. Therefore 19 out of the top 20 players in the world are in the NBA.
This list is from 2012, that is why Kirilenko and Pau are so high and Parker is so low. They are really basing it on Kirilenko’s performance in Euroleague where he was the MVP and Defensive Player of the year. But that has to be judged in the league he did that in. In Euroleague he was 7th in scoring, 1st in rebounds and 1st in block shots on the 2nd best team in the league. He comes over to the big league and he is 83rd in scoring, 64th in rebounds and 39th in block shots on the 21st best team in the league. You should be judged how you do in the top league, as we saw for Spanoulis when he came over to play with the big boys he was an absolute joke!
Marbury’s putting up great stats and is arguably the best player in the CBA. Does that mean he should be on the list of the top 10 American players? Of course not. Same with this list.
Any list that didn’t have Spanoulis first is a joke. He was by far the best European player of 2012.
Gabe, while I generally agree with your assessment of players (and enjoy the continuous baiting of the troll(s)), I do have one comment. Spanoulis’ time in the NBA was a few years ago. You can’t really assess him today based on how he played five years ago, any more than the troll (I don’t know which is his primary user name, so I’ll just go with troll) can assess Rubio for how he played in Europe when he was a teenager. I generally assume you make these comments just to bait the troll.
All players grow, reach their prime, and then regress. I do agree Spanoulis is a much better player today, and could start on many NBA teams. That doesn’t mean he would be a top 10 PG in the NBA, but he would be better today than he was 5+ years ago.
My comment was really more about Kirilenko than Spanoulis. Since this is the 2012 list it means that FIBA is basing it Kirilenko’s performance in Euroleague, MVP, DPOY, making the final. But as been shown in his return to the NBA he is not even a top 5 European player. So I am just saying that how players perform in Euroleague should be taken with a grain of salt.
Who is this Gabe idiot anyway? He obviously works for ESPN. But which ESPN idiot is he?
@coyote. For me, you can’t really compare V-Span with Rubio. As I have mentioned in the past, Rubio is STILL a developing player, and we don’t really know how high his ceiling is at this point. Rubio was a Rising Star awardee, Spanish National Team PG, but then he regressed playing his last couple of years in Europe. Now, he is starting to blossom again in the NBA. So the book is still out on him.
With V-Span, it’s a bit different. He came into the NBA, a fully mature and developed player. He had established himself in Europe, and then beat a star studded Team USA in 2006. So the expectations with him in Houston were high and immediate results were expected. Of course we now know what happened.
So the fact that he had a great Euroleague season last year, is it because of the weaker league or is Spanoulis improving? You make the decision.
@mike, fair enough. I do agree about Rubio, but Spanoulis was a 24 year old rookie who played all of one season in the NBA. As a Spurs fan, I would have liked to see him give the Spurs a chance. I disagree that he was fully developed:
Splitter came over as a 25 year old rookie, and due to adjustments and injuries, is only now, at 28, showing what he can do. I’ve seen the improvement in his game. That comes with comfort and confidence, which isn’t automatic even from a seasoned professional that played in Europe.
De Colo is a 25 year old rookie. I’m pretty sure he will continue to show improvements, but as a 3rd string PG, he doesn’t get the time he needs to develop as fast as he might with a lesser team.
Manu was a 25 year old rookie. His rookie year (’02-’03) he average 20 min per game and 7.6 PPG. Not stats of an all-star, but that is exactly what he is. If he walked away from the NBA after one season, he would be considered a scrub. In his 11 seasons (and hopefully counting) he has shown himself to be a top 3 shooting guard.
My point with Spanoulis is that we’ll never know what he might have done had he given the NBA more time. I do agree that a player can shine in a weaker league and be average or below average in the NBA, but that doesn’t mean Spanoulis would absolutely be a scrub in the NBA today had he not elected to return to Europe. Likewise, his success in Europe does not automatically mean he would be a star in the NBA had he stayed.
Spanoulis is easily in the top 5 best players in the world. That was the assessment of Team USA coaches D’Antoni and Coach K.
Hahahah I get it. Let’s just make things up.
Bobby Brown is easily in the top 5 best players in the world ever to play basketball. That is the assessment of David Stern and Michael Jordan.
@Spanoulis IS Basketnall God… please define “world”, because I don’t think we attribute the same meaning to that word.
@coyote. I agree with your point about Spanoulis. It was really a shame that he opted to return to Europe. I believe he could have have become a good player in the NBA, if he gave it a longer try. I don’t know if the Spurs would have been the perfect situation for him, with TParker and all, but some other team like Boston maybe(Rondo was not yet a good PG at the time).
I’m trying to get a handle on which NBA player to compare him to. Would you say he might be closest to Chauncey Billups? You know, bulky, strong, finish at the rim, good passer, shoot a little bit.?
With your point about Manu and the other guys, I see your point. However, with Manu in his first year, the numbers really can’t measure his impact even on his first year with the Spurs. I believe he played crucial minutes in the Playoffs and if memory serves me right, they won the title. I am a big Ginobili fan and think he is a surefire Hall of Famer.
Finally, are you European? If you are, thanks for bringing the sane Euro side of the argument to this site!
@mike. I haven’t had the opportunity to see Spanoulis play except in highlight videos. I didn’t have much opportunity to watch the Olympics or other tournaments last year either. Stats don’t tell the whole story, so I’m not sure who I’d compare him to.
Regarding Manu, yes they won the title his rookie year, but his contribution that year wasn’t too much different from the regular season. What I saw that first season was enough to make him my new favorite Spur since my previous one, Robinson, was planning to retire, but I don’t think he would have left a great impression had he walked away after one season. His minutes increased as did his PPG. But that year, Stephen Jackson, Speedy Claxton, and Tony Parker seemed to be more impactful in the playoffs, in addition to Duncan and Robinson. By the 2005 title team, he was definitely a leader on the team, and I think should have won the Finals MVP or been co-MVP with Duncan. Ginobili is definitely a Hall of Famer, first ballot I would assume. I’m shocked whenever I hear someone question his resume.
And, no, I am American, not European. As a Spurs fan, I like to keep up with the draft and stash players, and this site sometimes covers them.
@coyote. As a long time and long suffering Sixers fan, I marvel how the Spurs do it year in and year out. I mean I really thought that the Spurs dynasty was done about 3 years ago. How you guys keep generating elite winning seasons with all your more elderly players is really something. Coach Pop signs or drafts these role players, either American or foreign, and they all seem to play better than their talent levels. Amazing.
Meanwhile, in the city of brotherly love, Negadelphia, our franchise player is probably somewhere bowling for all we know.
@mike I am just as amazed. The most important factor in my opinion, is Peter Holt. He leads by hiring good people and getting out of their way. (As a Dallas Cowboys fan, I have an even greater appreciation for Holt and the other Spurs owners.)
The Spurs also lucked out in winning the draft lotteries in 1987 and 1997. Robinson and Duncan are both the ultimate team players. When they can take criticism, what other player can get upset when they’re called out? The Spurs either lucked into, or knew they were drafting, players that care more about team than themselves. When the stars put the team first, the role players fall in line. The Spurs do look for high character, high basketball IQ, and team first type players. They hit more than they miss. And I think high IQ players always play above what others expect of them. Those types of players know their limits and their skills and don’t try to do things outside of their limits.
Matt Bonner is a great example. He doesn’t fall for pump fakes because he knows he won’t be blocking any shots. He is a much better post defender than he gets credit for. Tony Parker built on his shooting skills, but when a 3-pointer wasn’t in his skill set, he didn’t take those shots. He still doesn’t take many, but when he does, they are usually good shots.
They may not be title contenders after Duncan and Ginobili retire, but I still like our chances with RC and Pop (assuming Pop doesn’t retire with them).